Chimamanda Writes US President, Says Nigeria’s Election Illegitimate, Disastrous

Prominent Nigerian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, has penned an open letter to US President, Joe Biden, describing the outcome of the 2023 presidential election as an “illegitimate process.”

In the letter titled, “Nigeria’s Hollow Democracy,” Chimamanda acknowledged her support for Peter Obi, the Labour Party candidate, while ccriticisng the U.S State Department for congratulating Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nigeria’s president-elect on March 1.

“Congratulating its outcome, President Biden, tarnishes America’s self-proclaimed commitment to democracy,” she stated.

She also criticised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for reneging on its assurance to Nigerians as contained in the recently amended 2022 Electoral Act and failed to upload results of the presidential election in real-time, whereas, results of the National Assembly elections which were held at the same time were easily uploaded.

“Please do not give the sheen of legitimacy to an illegitimate process,” she told Biden.

Chimamanda reiterated that the disappointment felt by many Nigerians was not because their preferred candidate lost but because “the election they had dared to trust was, in the end, so unacceptably and unforgivably flawed.”

She faulted the spokesperson of the U.S State Department for describing the poll as a “competitive election” that “represents a new period for Nigerian politics and democracy.”

The renowned award-winning author had previously penned her opinion in a New York Times article where she urged Biden “to stand behind the Nigerian people now and make a firm commitment to support election transparency” few days after the 2023 presidential election.